Many working mothers worry that they are failing their children because they do not cook their family meals from scratch, a new study indicates.

According to Maxine Woolhouse, a lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, these days, ‘enormous importance is attached to eating a healthy diet'.

"However, primarily it is mothers who are seen as accountable for their children's diets and any associated problems from these," she pointed out.

As part of the study, she interviewed 10 pairs of mothers and their teenage daughters. They were asked about a range of topics including eating habits, food in general and the female body.

The study found that mothers viewed the provision of a healthy diet for their children as extremely important, and practices such as ‘cooking from scratch' and ‘living off the land' were seen as key to this.

In fact, many mothers felt they had to do this to be viewed as a ‘good mum'.

However, they also acknowledged that these sometimes unfair and unrealistic expectations were placing huge pressures on working mothers.

"Most mothers want to provide the best diet they can for their children. However, due to contemporary culture, the healthiest diet is now seen as being ‘cooked from scratch' with food you have grown yourself. For many working mothers this is simply unachievable," Ms Woolhouse explained.

She added that this leaves some working mothers ‘feeling like they are failing to care for their families properly, with the further implication that they are to blame for the so-called 'obesity epidemic' in children'.

Ms Woolhouse presented the findings of her study at the British Psychological Society's Psychology of Women annual conference in Windsor.